Classical music will never die,says tabla maestro Ustad Fazal Qureshi

The world worships his father and his brother,tabla maestro late Ustad Alla Rakha Khan and Ustad Zakir Hussain.

The world worships his father and his brother,tabla maestro late Ustad Alla Rakha Khan and Ustad Zakir Hussain. But when it comes to Ustad Fazal Qureshi,this media shy tabla player prefers to keep to his world of music,one that is bent towards a lot of western classical and jazz. So,it came as no surprise when it was revealed that he joined hands with Swedish band Mynta and has been playing with them for more than two decades now.

In town for a concert with Sarangi virtuoso Dilshad Khan and others,Ustad Qureshi talks about how his most precious and memorable moments have been when he played with his father and brother. Playing with them is priceless,and I learnt my best lessons with them, says Ustad Qureshi who believes that classical music has the power to evolve,to attract and sustain on its own.

I have seen it take over a six year old to a 60 year old. This music will never die, says the tabla maestro,who runs the Alla Rakha Foundation for musicians and is all set to take out an album titled Connecting the Worlds.

This has the music of Udd,Sarangi,Saxaphone and table and is quite a musical confluence. He is coming out with his seventh album with Mynta too.

His roots reverberate with the beat of the table,and over the years,Qureshi has honed his natural inheritance and talent towards experimentation with different sounds and fusion between western and eastern music. As a soloist and accompanist,he has performed with Indian instrumentalists,vocalists,filmmakers and dancers.

Organised by Pracheen Kala Kendra and Department of Cultural Affairs,Chandigarh Administration,at the Tagore Theatre,the concert started with group tabla vadan by the students of Kulwinder Singh,disciple of Ustad Alla Rakha Khan. Beginning with Teen Taal,artists-in-making Harmeet Singh,Harjot Singh,Gurjeet Singh,Mandeep Singh and Guljinder Singh (Nagma),cast a magical spell with gat,quida,rela and peshkar.

Thereafter Deepak Bhatt and Arun Solanki,both disciples of Ustad Taufiq Qureshi,took centrestage with their Dholak and Percussion in a jugalbandi.

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Ustad Fazal Qureshi gave new dimention to the concert by replicating the elements of Raga Jog on tabla in teen taal simultaneously being played by Dilshad Khan on Sarangi in a scintillating jugalbandi.

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Classical music will never die,says tabla maestro Ustad Fazal Qureshi

The world worships his father and his brother,tabla maestro late Ustad Alla Rakha Khan and Ustad Zakir Hussain.

Classical music will never die,says tabla maestro Ustad Fazal Qureshi